The story so far: Tempus has altered the timeline by ensuring that Jack the Ripper kill Lois' ancestor, Charlotte Dodgson, before Charlotte ever gave birth. With Charlotte's death, Lois ceased to exist. Clark and H. G. Wells have travelled back to Victorian England three days before the murder is to occur in order to try to rectify the situation. They have enlisted the aid of Sherlock Holmes and John H. Watson to try to find Charlotte in time to prevent her murder.
The Case of the Flying Man (3/7)
When Clark and Wells entered the flat at 221B Baker Street, they noticed that Holmes seemed much more subdued than he had been the day before. In point of fact, his mood reflected their own. Clark’s reporter’s instincts had already told him that Holmes had not met with much success, but still he had to ask, “What have you found out?”
Holmes puffed on his meerschaum before reluctantly admitting, “I have spoken to numerous people in the East End. None of them has heard the name of Miss Dodgson, much less do they know her whereabouts. I have engaged some young men to make enquiries throughout London regarding the lady in question. I expect Wiggins to report to me at any minute.”
As if on cue, the Cockney strains of a teenage boy talking with Holmes’ landlady in the storey below became evident to Clark’s sharp ears. A minute later, there was a knock on Holmes’ door, and Holmes’ flatmate Dr Watson let in a scruffy street urchin.
“’Allo guvnuh!”
“Wiggins, do come in. Have you anything of interest to report?”
“Me and me mates have been keeping our minces and Kings wide open, and have been asking around, but we haven’t heard a single dicky about the dame. Sorry, sir.”
While observing Wiggins, Clark couldn’t help but reflect that the boy’s energy and eagerness to please reminded him of Jimmy back at the Planet.
Now Clark was able to speak 347 languages, and was well-versed in the variety of English known as Cockney rhyming slang. He knew perfectly well that “minces and Kings,” short for “mince pies and King Lears” meant “eyes and ears,” and that “dicky (bird)” meant “word”. He therefore realized that Wiggins had just indicated that he and his friends had heard nothing about Charlotte. But long ingrained habits made him feign ignorance to help protect his secrets.
Holmes gave Wiggins sufficient money to give a shilling to each of the Irregulars for their troubles, and he then instructed Wiggins to continue trying to learn anything they could about Miss Dodgson, whereupon Wiggins left the flat and raced down the stairs. Only then did Clark tell the detective, “I think the boy was using Cockney rhyming slang; but I didn’t understand what he said. Had he learnt anything?”
“Absolutely nothing.”
Clark grimaced as he reported on his own lack of success of the day before. “There are no leads! I have tried to chase down every governmental record I could think of; but Charlotte doesn’t seem to have been born in London. There are no driver’s licenses in this era. No census data. No phone books. Nothing!” He kept to himself his additional frustration at not having even enough information to find his superpowers useful in the search – after all, he had no idea what Charlotte looked like, or even how to distinguish her heartbeat or voice from those of the other residents of the city. A flyby patrol, even using his super vision and hearing, would therefore have been pointless.
Clark saw Holmes appear to meditate for a few moments and then utter, “A street name! If Jack remains consistent in his choice of victims, and if Miss Dodgson is to become his next target, then she is a lady of questionable repute. Perhaps she is known on the streets under a different name. Mr Kent, Mr Wells, have you really no idea at all what she looks like?”
Clark then recalled the other times he had travelled with Mr Wells. The previous incarnations of Lois had all looked just like her. Was it possible that Charlotte was another such incarnation? He didn’t think that Mr Holmes would believe in reincarnation, and so he couched his response accordingly. “Well, she is a direct ancestor of my wife. Perhaps she looks like her. If you would lend me a pen, I can draw you a picture of Lois.”
Clark made four sketches. After he had given the detective and the doctor each a drawing, he gave the third to Wells and kept the fourth for himself. All then agreed to meet back at the flat at the same time the next day – the day of the intended murder. Their current lead was slim, but it was all they had.
